Monday, January 08, 2007

The tabernacle

Personal beef!
I went into a Catholic Church and I could not find the tabernacle! I guess from what some people tell me it is in the backroom, or in other strange places. I feel it should be front and center and near the alter. However, it seems that some churches do not agree. So let us see what the Catechism has to say…
IV. Where Is the Liturgy Celebrated?
1179
The worship "in Spirit and in truth"
53 of the New Covenant is not tied exclusively to any one place. The whole earth is sacred and entrusted to the children of men. What matters above all is that, when the faithful assemble in the same place, they are the "living stones," gathered to be "built into a spiritual house."54 For the Body of the risen Christ is the spiritual temple from which the source of living water springs forth: incorporated into Christ by the Holy Spirit, "we are the temple of the living God."55
1180
When the exercise of religious liberty is not thwarted,
56 Christians construct buildings for divine worship. These visible churches are not simply gathering places but signify and make visible the Church living in this place, the dwelling of God with men reconciled and united in Christ.
1181
A church, "a house of prayer in which the Eucharist is celebrated and reserved, where the faithful assemble, and where is worshipped the presence of the Son of God our Savior, offered for us on the sacrificial altar for the help and consolation of the faithful—this house ought to be in good taste and a worthy place for prayer and sacred ceremonial."
57 In this "house of God" the truth and the harmony of the signs that make it up should show Christ to be present and active in this place.58
1182
The altar of the New Covenant is the Lord's Cross,
59 from which the sacraments of the Paschal mystery flow. On the altar, which is the center of the church, the sacrifice of the Cross is made present under sacramental signs. The altar is also the table of the Lord, to which the People of God are invited.60 In certain Eastern liturgies, the altar is also the symbol of the tomb (Christ truly died and is truly risen).
1183
The tabernacle is to be situated "in churches in a most worthy place with the greatest honor."
61 The dignity, placing, and security of the Eucharistic tabernacle should foster adoration before the Lord really present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar.62 The sacred chrism (myron), used in anointings as the sacramental sign of the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit, is traditionally reserved and venerated in a secure place in the sanctuary. The oil of catechumens and the oil of the sick may also be placed there.

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